[ t w c o m _ 2 0 0 8 ]

Lo and behold. Adam Sessler from G4TV finally lashes out after the crazies complain about how Diablo III doesn’t look exactly like Diablo II.

“At what point do we need to accept that change is inevitable? In this week’s Sessler’s Soapbox, Adam tackles the recent criticism over Blizzard’s bright and colorful art scheme for the highly anticipated Diablo III.”

Expansion notes for Burning Rock Update (August 20th, 2008):

• Cap raise to 89
• New Maps
• New Kingdom Quest
• Town Warp Gate
• Wedding System
• Big Quest content changes
• Character Skills
• Guild Capacity Increase
• Monarchy System
• Miscellaneous Fixes

Click for further details.

(more…)

Can’t wait for Blackshot to open?
Gotcha covered.

From now until the end of CBT, Counter-strike: Source servers have been made to prepare you for Blackshot!
Opening first is the Reg server. Play all the classic maps - including ones used in gaming leagues and tournaments.

Second to open will be the GunGame 4 server. This is more of a casual server where the games are quick and it’s more-so a frenzied fight.
The GunGame server will be unlocked soon. When opened to the public this will be a permanent server.

See the Blackshot CS:S site here!
The server information will be available there, as well as the map lists and any quick announcements that may be needed.

If anyone has any questions or issues dealing with the server (hacking, server stability, etc), please let me know and I’ll deal with it as soon as I’m available. (ie, not at a work emergency or in college classes).

I’ll pop in from time to time. If the server is full too often, I will raise the player capacity up or open the gungame early. If nobody is in there when you come, you’ll be able to engage combat with auto-joining/auto-vacating bots. Careful, though: the bot difficulty is set to “pwn”.

Enjoy, everyone!

The Shadow Odyssey is an all-in-one compilation of Everquest II, and will be sold in stores and for Digital Download at USD $39.99. It is expected to be released on November 18, 2008.

Find out more at the Everquest II promotional site, http://www.theshadowodyssey.com/.

Features include:

• Journey through more than 20 new zones, including the new overland zone, Innothule.
• Experience nostalgic EverQuest dungeons as you and your friends adventure in the Ruins of Guk, Befallen, Najena, Mistmoore, and more.
• The Achievement Point level cap will be increased to 200 to offer new achievements for class-specific lines.
• A new Dungeon Delving mission system for players to replay content with new and different experiences.
• Five new Heritage Quests with unique rewards.
• A new, mysterious group of Erudites with powerful new armor and equipment that they will barter for void shards earned during your encounters.
• More deities have returned to Norrath, Rodect Nife and Anashti Sul.

Can’t wait for Blackshot to arrive?

Warm up for the competitive edge on the Counter-Strike: Source game servers for Outspark’s (www.outspark.com) new FPS game, Blackshot!

Depending on the amount of concurrent users, there will be one or two servers.
Play the GunGame-modded for some fast, quake-like action! Or, if you’re feeling more tactical, play the Reg server. All of the standard maps will be in rotation, starting off with de_dust2.

Plenty of GunGame maps will be available!

Come back in a few days to witness the launch of the promo website!

The newest addition to the Outspark family is Blackshot, a fresh tactical FPS.

“We’re thrilled to add an innovative, free-to-play FPS game to our lineup,” says Susan Choe, Outspark CEO.
“[It] offers fast-paced action for casual gamers interested in a quick shootout, while hardcore players will love innovative features like the game’s player-versus-environment mode.”

Blackshot will be released later this summer. You can sign up for the beta at www.playblackshot.com.

Visit www.project-powder.com to download and play for free!

Outspark released their trailer for Studio BlueCat’s Snowboarding simulator game Project Powder.
Enjoy!

Visit Project Powder’s website at project-powder.com.

Project Powder, a snowboard sim, is the newest addition to the Outspark Free to Play library. It will be entering Closed Beta Test phase 1 soon, so make sure you sign up at http://projectpowder.outspark.com/ today!

There will also be prizes for contestants of the CBT including free Sparkcash, as well as a cool CBT hooded sweatshirt only given to users who achieve level 5 in the first test phase.

Closed Beta Testing Hours
Monday ~ Friday
10:00am - 7:00pm (Pacific Time)

New content for the Wii is available. The Wii Shop channel was updated to separate the directories into Virtual Console (VC), WiiWare, and Wii Channel. The WiiWare section has a few launch titles, including the infamous Flash game, Defend Your Castle and the WiiWare-exclusive Final Fantasy Crystal Cronicles game.

Coming soon (hopefully) is the WiiWare title, Everyone’s Pokemon Ranch. It’s sorta like the Pokemon Box and Hey You Pikachu! games mixed with the Mii channel. You store up to 1000 pokemon (at 999 pokemon, you supposedly get a Mew) in the game, and can play with them in various ways. The more pokemon you have and objectives you’ve done, the more you’re able to do in the game. Here are some screenshots [from gamesradar].

The Nintendo channel is more-so a game preview channel. You can watch gameplay videos, trailers, and commentary on your favorite Wii and DS games, as well as be able to download game demos to your DS via the Wii to DS download service built in.